Living LEGOs in Schaumburg

Kids will love this interactive museum

Alena Murguia

9/1/09 11:51 AM

Kids provide the imagination, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre provides the raw materials. The first Discovery Centre in the United States recently opened in Schaumburg and features a dragon roller coaster, a LEGO factory tour and a miniland of LEGO buildings.

Just walking around the building is enough to inspire even the smallest builders. A 30-foot-long replica of the Chicago skyline made from LEGOs, with a 17-foot-high Sears Tower, greets visitors. From there, kids go on an Indiana Jones-style Adventure Trail. Next, travel by dragon through a knight-themed adventure created from LEGOs.

The second floor has a Factory Tour where families can learn how LEGO bricks are made, a Build and Test area complete with racing ramps and earthquake tables, and class sessions with master builders who can instruct kids in everything from sphere-building to stable tower construction.

"We hope for mothers to have their kids come and play while they have a place to relax," says Mike Pastor, attraction manager for LEGOLAND Discovery Centre.

With materials from soft-foam LEGOs to DUPLOs and Technic bricks, kids of all ages can build anything their imaginations can conjure up. Birthday parties and field trips are also offered. The retail shop at the end of the experience offers every kind of LEGO and is accessible without admission to the Discovery Centre.

The LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, at 601 Martingale Road, Unit 130, Streets of Woodfield, in Schaumburg, is open daily at 10 a.m. Admission is $19, $15 for children and $17 for seniors. Season passes are available.